The 10 best MLB teams of the now-concluding 2010s
By Bill Felber
The 10 best MLB teams of the now-concluding 2010s
8. 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers, 10 ½ points
One year after losing to the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers returned with a team that looked perfectly capable of winning it all. LA possessed the majors’ best regular-season record, 104-58, having won the NL West by 11 games.
The Dodgers strength was a deep pitching staff led by Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31). Alex Wood won 16 of his 19 decisions, and Kenley Jansen recorded 41 saves. LA’s team 123 ERA+ ranked fourth in the majors.
The Dodgers’ offense was less dominant, but it still featured Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig (39 and 28 home runs respectively).
After sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks in the division round, the Dodgers earned revenge on the Cubs, taking them in five games in the NLCS. That earned them a trip to the World Series, where they were pitted against the American League’s best team, the Houston Astros.
Their battled waged across the maximum seven games before the Astros tagged starter Yu Darvish for five runs in the first two innings of the final game and won 5-1.
Darvish was the Series goat, lasting just a total of three and one-third innings and surrendering nine runs in his two appearances. But the Dodgers’ offense also deserved some share of the blame, hitting just .205 against the Astros starters.